PCB assembly line assignment: A genetic algorithm approach

Purpose - This paper sets out to study a production-planning problem for printed circuit board (PCB) assembly. A PCB assembly company may have a number of assembly lines for production of several product types in large volume. Design/methodology/approach - Pure integer linear programming models are formulated for assigning the product types to assembly lines, which is the line assignment problem, with the objective of minimizing the total production cost. In this approach, unrealistic assignment, which was suffered by previous researchers, is avoided by incorporating several constraints into the model. In this paper, a genetic algorithm is developed to solve the line assignment problem. Findings - The procedure of the genetic algorithm to the problem and a numerical example for illustrating the models are provided. It is also proved that the algorithm is effective and efficient in dealing with the problem. Originality/value - This paper studies the line assignment problem arising in a PCB manufacturing company in which the production volume is high.